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Your best bets for fun in Northern Colorado

Week offers a variety of entertainment options

By Jackie Hutchins

Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Posted:
04/13/2018 08:18:32 AM MDT

From left, actresses Raegan DeBord, Cierra Pangrac, Kathryn Tracy and Evan DeBord gather in an all-girls scene during a rehearsal for the Harrington Arts Alliance production of "Spring Awakening." The show opens Friday, April 13. (Thieng Mai / Loveland Reporter-Herald)

Looking for something to do in the coming week? From tasty food to theater, art, poetry and even a monster truck show and a cat show, there's something for everyone.

Taste of Loveland

Foothills Service League's annual Taste of Loveland will be held at 6-9 p.m. Thursday, April 19, at the Rocky Mountain Center for Innovation and Technology, 815 14th St. SW, Loveland.

Food, wine, beer and spirits from 30-plus area restaurants will be served. The event also includes a silent auction and live music. The event is for ages 21 and older.

In celebration of National Poetry Month and National Garden Month, a Poetry Reading Fundraiser for Loveland Youth Gardeners will take place at 4:30-5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, at the Loveland Youth Gardeners office, 907 S. Lincoln Ave., Loveland.

Loveland Youth Gardeners founder Joanna Rago will read from her new book of poems, "Here, the River ..."

The Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra will return to Loveland for a show at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 14, at the Rialto Theater Center, 228 E. Fourth St., Loveland.

Beth Conrey, pictured tending to her hives at the Wide Horizon Farm in Longmont in 2015, will kick off swarm season with a talk about honey bees Friday, April 13, the Loveland Museum/Gallery. (Cyrus McCrimmon / Denver Post file photo)

The CJRO draws from the legacy of Duke Ellington, as played by his and other great bands. In addition to some original Ellington arrangements, they will present the Duke through the eyes and ears of Count Basie, Woody Herman, and many others. Putting Ellington's songs into words will be Heidi Schmidt coming back for her fourth visit to the Rialto.

"To Name Another Thing," an exhibit of new works by Chloe West, will open with a reception at 6-9 p.m. Friday, April 13, at Artworks Loveland, 310 N. Railroad Ave., Loveland.

Her paintings of everyday objects such as window blinds and lineoleum tiles paintings "create a fragmented sense of place, a dislocated site that the viewer navigates."

The event is free. The exhibit runs through May 26.

Artworks also is exhibiting "Impressions: An Exploration of Contemporary Printmaking" through April 28, and will host a poetry reading by Veronica Patterson at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 19, and Poets in the Galleries: An Ekphrastic Poetry Reading, at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 25, where local poets will respond to works on display at Artworks.

An artist reception and gallery talk for "Accumulation: An Installation by Hailey Myrick" will be at 5-8 p.m. Friday, April 13, at the Loveland Museum/Gallery, 503 N. Lincoln Ave., Loveland.

Myrick will give a talk at 5 p.m. followed by a reception at 6 p.m. Her exhibit will be in the Mezzanine Gallery.

"Accumulation" is a suspended installation of slip cast ceramics, as a reflection on the negative impact that humans have had on our environment. The exhibit and slate of programming will integrate the history of water use and misuse in Colorado with an artistic interpretation inspired by these themes.

Beth Conrey, owner of Bee Squared Apiaries in Berthoud, will kick off swarm season with a talk about the physiology and social structure of the honey bee at 6-8 p.m. Friday, April 13, the Loveland Museum/Gallery, 503 N. Lincoln Ave., Loveland.

The Northern Colorado Beekeepers Association will also be available to answer questions, such as what types of flowers attract bees and who to call if you have a bee swarm. Products from Bee Squared will be for sale.

Jim Found will present a program on Park Trails for Newcomers at 6:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, at the Loveland Public Library, 300 N. Adams Ave., Loveland.

He will discuss his favorite spots for viewing scenery and taking short hikes, and give a beginning look at the destinations, flowers, trees and animals in Rocky Mountain National Park and along the road to it.

Bas Bleu Theatre, 401 Pine St., Fort Collins, will host a showing of "The Homeless Chorus Speaks," a film by Susan Polis Schutz, at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 15.

In the documentary, Schutz interviews 14 homeless members of the Voices of Our City Choir who tell their stories; from women who have been abused and used, to those battling addiction, to people who just can't afford housing, to people who need medical care. They talk about their backgrounds, why they are homeless, the inhumanity of homelessness, their hopes and dreams, and what each thinks the solutions to the homeless problem might be.

Released in 2018, the film runs 57 minutes.

A panel discussion will follow with Betsy Markey, U.S. representative for Colorado's 4th congressional district in 2009-11 and the former Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs in the United States Department of Homeland Security; Kelly Evans, executive director of Neighbor to Neighbor; Giavanni Heflin, housing counselor at Neighbor to Neighbor; Marla Cleary, Housing First Initiative Director for Homeless Gear/the Murphy Center; and Vanessa Fenley, consultant with Continuum of Care and Coordinated Assessment and Housing Placement System.

Junkman Harry Brock has come to Washington to make crooked deals with government big-wigs. Girlfriend Billie is charming but dumb. Magazine reporter Paul Verrall has been investigating Brock's activities, and agrees to tutor Billie. But her natural honesty and frankness enchants Paul. As she begins to learn what Harry really is she becomes a threat to Harry.

Two international travelers in Northern Colorado will share their wildlife photography from Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda at 1-3 p.m. Saturday, April 14, at the Global Village Museum of Arts and Cultures, 200 W. Mountain Ave., Fort Collins.